The Marlows and the Traitor facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Antonia Forest |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
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Publication date
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1953 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 253 pp (recent hardback edition) |
| Preceded by | Autumn Term |
| Followed by | Falconer's Lure |
The Marlows and the Traitor is an exciting adventure novel written by Antonia Forest. It was first published in 1953 and is the second book in her popular series about the Marlow family. The story takes place during the Easter holidays in a small fishing village on the South Coast of England.
This book is special because it's the first in the series to feature sailing adventures. It also introduces important male characters, including Peter Marlow, one of the main kids, and a mysterious "traitor." The story mostly focuses on the younger Marlow children and their thrilling discoveries.
Antonia Forest, the author, once shared that she didn't originally plan to write a whole series about the Marlows. When she was writing this book in 1953, important trials were happening in Germany called the Nuremberg Trials. These trials were about people who had betrayed their country during World War II. This made Forest want to write a story about a traitor, and then she thought of using the Marlow family for the adventure.
Contents
An Unexpected Discovery
The story begins with Peter Marlow, one of the older Marlow children. He is taking an early morning walk during a big storm. He sees Lewis Foley, one of his teachers from Dartmouth Naval College, who is also on holiday in the village of St-Anne's-Byfleet. But Foley acts strangely and ignores Peter.
Later, Peter and his sister Nicola find a sign pointing to a place called Mariners. They can't resist exploring! Mariners turns out to be an old, empty house with a special lookout spot called a crow's nest. There's also a sign pointing to "Foley's Folly Light," which sounds mysterious.
Secrets of Mariners
Nicola talks to her friend Robert Anquetil, a local fisherman. She learns that Lewis Foley grew up in the village and that Mariners belongs to his family. Anquetil warns Nicola to stay away from the house.
However, when Nicola gets back to the hotel, Peter has already told the other Marlow kids about Mariners. They are all excited and plan to visit the house that very afternoon. Nicola agrees to go along, even though she feels a bit worried.
Exploring the Old House
The children enter the old house and start exploring. Nicola, Peter, and Lawrie decide to go down to the dark cellars. Ginty, another Marlow child, agrees to stay on guard outside.
But Ginty gets scared when she hears a noise and quickly follows the others down the stairs. In the cellar, Peter finds some tiny film slides called microfiche. These slides seem to show secret details about the Navy!
A Dangerous Encounter
Suddenly, a man walks into the cellars. The girls are very afraid, but Peter recognizes him. It's Lewis Foley! Peter starts to tell Foley about the secrets he found on the microfiche.
Foley then pulls out a gun and forces the children to come with him onto his boat. Luckily, Lawrie is quick and manages to escape. Nicola, thinking fast, puts sugar into the boat's engine. This stops the boat from going far out to sea. Instead, Foley has to land at a nearby lighthouse. He signals to someone to come and pick him up there. He is told to get rid of the children, but he doesn't follow that order.
Lawrie's Warning
Meanwhile, Lawrie is trying to get back to the hotel. On her way, she gets into an accident and is knocked out. When she wakes up, she tells Robert Anquetil what happened. It turns out that Robert Anquetil is actually a secret agent!
He is told not to look for the children right away. Capturing the traitor and his helpers is more important.
A Daring Rescue Plan
Peter and Nicola come up with a clever plan to signal for help from the lighthouse. They hope to get the attention of any ships passing by. Nicola and Ginty pretend that Peter has fallen into the sea and drowned while trying to escape. This way, Peter can hide in the lighthouse without Foley looking for him.
Foley seems genuinely sad about Peter and is kind to the girls. Later that night, the children start signaling "SOS" (Save Our Souls) using a light. They watch as Naval ships pass by without seeing them. But they don't give up!
Help Arrives
Finally, their signals are spotted by Robert Anquetil. Foley comes up the stairs while they are signaling, but Ginty quickly throws her lamp at him. Foley is hurt, but not too badly.
The next day, a submarine appears, and men come to collect Foley and the children. Peter, being brave, has taken Foley's gun. He shoots the Admiral who comes from the submarine. But before anything else can happen, the Navy arrives! The submarine is destroyed, and the children are rescued.
Heroes' Return
On the way home, Nicola gets to fulfill a dream: she is allowed onto the bridge of the destroyer ship! Both Nicola and Peter are a little disappointed that they are not allowed to tell anyone about their amazing adventure. But Ginty is just happy to forget the whole scary experience.
